Conda Britt

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There's little point in denying that sticking with this season of The Biggest Loser has felt like more of an endurance test than a bright spot on your Tuesday nights. However, there was a ray of light a couple months back when news leaked out that there was unrest during production of this season and some contestants were revolting. Tonight we get to see what happened, or at least what they want us to think happened. It's been something I've been looking forward to all week. Was it all we hoped for, or a big let-down?

Losers Walk Out

Is this the most compelling moment of reality television ever?

The show starts in the wake of each contestant storming out of the house and the camera crew scrambling to make sense of what's happening. A producer informs Bob about what's going on, who in turn relays the information to Dolvett and both are flabbergasted. They're both astonished that none of them knew the twist was going to happen since it has in every previous season. Kim initially comes off as reticent to participate in the standoff with everyone else, but Bob calls on her to shed some light on the matter and she replies only with, "It doesn't concern you."

Buddy makes things even more tense and surreal by claiming that he makes choices to work out or not. The catch to that is truly none of them have the rights they seem to think they do. The contracts people sign to be on reality shows generally strip you of anything resembling your free will for the time you're on the show and many times beyond. If Buddy chose not to work out with Bob, Buddy goes bye-bye. Which one of the five stalwarts are going to learn that lesson the hard way?

Lawyers: 1 | Losers: 0

Forgive me but I am as bewildered as I am enthralled by thinking through the logic of these people. I've railed against their self-aggrandizing egos all season and this is truly the culmination of it. They sit down with the show's lawyer one-by-one and spell out this idea of fairness and who deserves to win. How has Jeremy deliberately tanking challenges in recent weeks to save his sister make Conda deserving of her opportunity to win? And above all, isn't this just about losing weight, feeling better about yourself, and leading a healthier life?

The best part of this lawyer exchange comes when Jeremy is told that the rules of the game stated that contestants would be brought back for the final and he signed the paper acknowledging it. He tries to skirt the issue by saying that the idea was not concrete, which is quickly debunked by the actual document's own words. This is what makes their unmitigated gall so astounding. Did they really think that an NBC show did not have the legal recourse to back this up? Did they forget back when they were desperately wanting to be on the show that they signed paperwork that granted them the recourse to do whatever they wanted in the game? Because if Mark or Buddy or Kim didn't want to do it back then, the show would've just moved on and found somebody who would.

Mark and Buddy Quit!

Mark leaves trying to spin the audience reaction the same way he's been manipulating the politics inside the house from day one. He cites as a reason that he's tired of all the "twists and turns" of the game. Which twist was too much for you, Mark? The humiliating experience of a day spent in the White House with your loved ones and the First Lady of the United States? The day when professional stylists threw you the curveball of shaving off your ridiculous goatee? How about just admitting that you were mad Chism got voted off and you wanted to go home?

One Final Twist...

Another one of those twists that disgusted Mark so much turned out to be Kim winning a car tonight. They got some nerve. She does so by dropping a 15-point bomb on the scale. For all the turmoil of the episode, it's touching to see her reaction to the gaudy number and the realization that she's secured a spot in the finale. Jeremy fails to beat his sister and is sent home, which draws more cries of things not being fair. Do any of these people understand the concept of competition?

Conda and Kim are assured a spot in the finale, but Allison says the finale isn't for another two weeks. It's then that she introduces all the eliminated contestants and announces what they all feared: one of them will be joining the two women in the finale competing for $500,000.

What did you think of tonight's Biggest Loser? Too dramatic? Or is the excitement you've been waiting for this season?

Casey CasteelContributing Writer

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